PRO FOOTBALL / DAILY REPORT : NFC PLAYOFFS

What happened to the 49ers Sunday in their 27-17 loss to the Green Bay Packers may have been startling, but it wasn’t sudden.

This is a team that has not aged well since its Super Bowl victory over the San Diego Chargers, and needs several off-season changes to maintain championship form.

Begin with the league’s top-ranked defense, which began failing during the final two games of the regular season.

The defense gave up 30 points to the Minnesota Vikings and nearly blew a 21-0 lead then allowed the Atlanta Falcons to come back from a 14-3 deficit and record a 28-27 victory in the season finale.

This same defense used zone coverage Saturday in hopes that Brett Favre could not find the right receivers and his tight ends could not get open underneath the zone.

They were wrong in all aspects, as Favre missed on only seven of 28 passes while finding tight ends Keith Jackson and Mark Chmura for seven completions for 120 yards and two touchdowns.

“I went up against the best today and stood my ground,” Favre said.

“The best” now needs fixing.

The 49ers need a cornerback to replace Marquez Pope, whose late-season tackling was as poor as his deep coverage. And they need a swifter linebacker who can play better pass defense. The trio of Ken Norton Jr., Lee Woodall and Gary Plummer needs support.

The offense is in bigger trouble. Steve Young will be 34 this year, Jerry Rice will be 33, and if they are to have any chance at another Super Bowl championship, they need more weapons.

The 49er running backs gained 91 yards in their last three games, including only five yards while trying to come from behind against the Packers.

The team’s regular-season rushing total--1,479 yards--was their lowest in 22 years.

Derek Loville is ordinary, and fumbling Adam Walker has been an embarrassment. William Floyd may not return from knee surgery until 1997, and Ricky Watters is never coming back.

Next, they need a couple of young blockers. Young spent most of Saturday wildly scrambling--he was sacked three times but knocked down nearly a dozen other times--and the pressure will continue until the injury-prone veteran group is broken up.

Harris Barton, Steve Wallace, Bart Oates and Jesse Sapolu have been in the league a combined 43 years. It could be time for a change.

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At least Favre was honest Saturday when asked about today’s other NFC semifinal game, between the Philadelphia Eagles and Dallas Cowboys.

“We’re all going to be pulling for Philly,” he said.

And why not? The last three times the Packers have been in the playoffs, they have been knocked out by the Cowboys.

--They were defeated, 35-9, in the NFC semifinals last year.

--They were defeated, 27-17, in the semifinals in 1993.

--They were defeated, 37-26, in the second round of the strike-caused 1982 Super Bowl tournament.

All three games were at Dallas, where this championship game will be held if the Cowboys win.